1943 NKVD General.

[DougD]

After about 2 years of fighting, the last part of this uniform came in this week.

First impressions would be that this is a M1945 "Victory Parade" major General of the NKVD; right color, right cut, etc. Therefore the grey version, single breasted, of this uniform, would be an M1943 parade tunic for an NKVD general.

This is not True!! (not that people spend alot of time thinking about it).

In fact, both of these uniforms were worn at the same time; both are in fact M1943 parade uniforms. The blue version, shown here, is for generals of the NKVD (Commissars of State Security) Troop service. The grey, single breasted version, is for the NKGB side of the NKVD.

Rumor is that the NKVD designed the blue double breasted uniform and it was such a hit that the army and air force copied it for the M1945 uniform. There was no real NKVD version of the M1945 uniform; NKVD Commissars who had been given the rank of general in 1945 ( there were about 150 of them) were also given army uniforms. The only known example of this uniform was for General D.I Esipenko. His cap badge was backed in Royal NKVD blue, not army red. It is not known ( and may never be) if this was done just by him to show he was NKVD or was the only standard difference between army and NKVD M1945s.

DougD